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Suppose first that a simple continued fraction is eventually periodic. Its periodic tail $\xi$ is fixed by the Möbius transformation represented by the continued-fraction matrix of one full period:ThusThe infinite tail is not rational, since a rational simple continued fraction terminates. Hence $\xi$ is a quadratic irrational, and the finite initial block expresses the original number as another rational Möbius transform of $\xi$. Therefore every eventually periodic simple continued fraction represents a quadratic irrational.

For the purely periodic fraction $x=[7,7,7,\dots ]$,so $x^2-7x-1=0$. Positivity selects

Apply the continued-fraction algorithm to $\sqrt{23}$:The complete quotient then repeats, givingThe convergents through one term before the final $8$ areThe last of these satisfies the Pell equationso a positive solution is

Write the continued fraction as $\theta =[a_0;a_1,a_2,\dots ]$ and define its convergents byInduction using these recurrences givesIn particular, consecutive convergents have coprime numerator and denominator. The standard best-approximation consequence of the same determinant identity is that, for $0<q\le q_n$ and $p/q\ne p_n/q_n$,Dividing by $q\le q_n$ givesThe contrapositive proves that any strictly better approximation has $q>q_n$.

For $\sqrt{12}$, the continued-fraction algorithm givesand the remainder then repeats. HenceThe convergent $[3;2]=7/2$ supplies a solution of the Pell equation:

First suppose $|{\sigma }_i(\alpha )|=1$ for every complex embedding. The coefficients of the monic polynomialare rational algebraic integers and hence integers. They are uniformly bounded in $m$, because each is an elementary symmetric sum of numbers of modulus one. Only finitely many such integer polynomials can occur, so only finitely many algebraic integers ${\alpha }^m$ occur. Two powers coincide; since $\alpha \ne 0$, this gives ${\alpha }^{r-s}=1$. Thus $\alpha$ is a root of unity. This is Kronecker theorem on algebraic integers in the unit disk.

The second printed assertion is literally false for $\alpha =0$. For the intended statement with $\alpha \ne 0$, use the Minkowski embedding: algebraic integers of $K$ form a lattice, so only finitely many have all conjugates of modulus at most $2$. A nonzero algebraic integer with every conjugate of modulus at most one hasso every conjugate has modulus one and the first part applies. Consequently every non-root in that finite box has ${\max }_i|{\sigma }_i(\alpha )|>1$. Choose $c>1$ no larger than the least of these finitely many maxima, taking $c=2$ if there are no non-roots. Then every nonzero $\alpha \in {\mathcal{O}}_K$ satisfying $|{\sigma }_i(\alpha )|<c$ for all $i$ is a root of unity.

Dirichlet unit theorem states that for signature $(r_1,r_2)$,and the logarithmic embedding of number field units maps the free part to a full lattice in the hyperplane where the weighted coordinate sum is zero.

For a real quadratic field, the roots of unity are $\{\pm 1\}$ and the logarithms of positive units form a nonzero discrete subgroup $a\mathbb{Z}\subset \mathbb{R}$. Its smallest positive element is $\log ϵ$ for a unit $ϵ>1$. Given any positive unit $u>1$, choose $n$ so that $1\le u{ϵ}^{-n}<ϵ$; minimality forces the quotient to be $1$. Applying signs and inverses shows

Since $11\equiv 3(\mathrm{mod}4)$, the ring of integers of a quadratic field is $\mathbb{Z}[\sqrt{11}]$. A unit $a+b\sqrt{11}$ satisfies the Pell equation $a^2-11b^2=\pm 1$. The elementhas norm $1$. To prove it is the smallest unit above one without invoking the continued-fraction algorithm, suppose $1<a+b\sqrt{11}<10+3\sqrt{11}$. Replacing by its inverse or negative if needed makes $b>0$, and the conjugate relation implies $b\sqrt{11}<(u+u^{-1})/2<10$, so $b\le 3$. For $b=1,2,3$, the numbers $11b^2\pm 1$ are respectivelyOnly the last list contains a square, namely $100=10^2$, which yields the endpoint itself. Hence no smaller unit exists and